Eight people conducted this week's survey on a very warm, sunny morning. Despite what seemed like optimum conditions, there were relatively few butterflies. Finding three different kinds of snakes (see list below) was certainly a treat. The Eastern Carpenter Bee pictured here was engaged in a behavior called "nectar stealing." Instead of entering the flower through the area with stamens and pistil to get to its reward, the bee simply bites into the base of the flower, obtaining food without doing any pollinating.